One of the more important aspects for an adult responsible for the care of a child or infant, is to engage the attention of the child or infant in a constructive manner. For the purposes of this invention, the term "infant" or "child" are synonymous and the term "adult" includes all persons, regardless of age, responsible for the care and safety of a child. This is particularly true when the adult is confined in close quarters with the child for an extended period of time, such as on an airplane, bus, automobile or the like. It is preferable not only to amuse the child, but utilize the child's senses to stimulate mental and physical development. For instance, in such situations, it is common for the child to face the adult while occupying the adult's lap. Hand held devices, such as dolls, books, rattles, etc., may be employed by the adult for interaction with the child, but are undesirable in several respects. Typically, only one or two hand held devices may be utilized at a given time, limiting the range of activities available to the child. Further, the adult may select a device that does not currently interest the child, rendering it ineffective. Control of the devices may be transferred to the child, but it is not uncommon for the child to repeatedly drop the device in an inaccessible or inconvenient location. Finally, it is desirable to free the arms and hands of the adult from holding the devices, particularly for extended periods of time, such as when the adult must also carry or hold the child.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,649, issued to Bringmann, shows a shopping cart handle cover having an ornament for amusing a child riding on the shopping cart. U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,219, issued to Klinger, shows an infant seat belt attachment for mounting on a child's safety seat. The attachment includes several stuffed toys releasably secured, such as by Velcro.RTM. type fasteners. The toys may be individually removed and played with by the child. However, these and other similar existing apparatus are designed for use in conjunction with a specific type of structure. The apparatus is thus not generally portable or usable when the supporting structure is not available. Further, the devices shown in the above references are designed to distract or amuse the child, but do not provide apparatus for educating or training the child.